[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/lit/ - Literature

View post   
File: 38 KB, 436x608, nanowrimo.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5670970 No.5670970 [Reply] [Original]

Hi /lit/! I'm writing for my first time and for this NaNoWriMo! Yesterday killed me, but i made it pretty close to the target word count. I think i'm kinda slow because i obsessively capitalize the beginning of sentences and names, etc... do you guys do this when you're writing (and not editing)?

Are any of you guys and gals participating? How's it going for you so far?

>> No.5671007

>>5670970
I thought about doing it, but then I realized how busy I am right now
I goot an idea for a short novel yesterday, though

>> No.5671020

>>5670970
what do you mean target word count? the whole 50.000?
I am little under 2000 now, i have the plot outlined and the time at hand, but somehow dont feel it in me right now.
What are you writing about?

>> No.5671143

>>5671007
Work? I don't have a job right now, but i wish i did, even if it meant i couldn't participate; we can always have our own personal NanoWriMo, right?

>>5671020
Daily target word count. My bad.

I'm trying to hit 1,800 a day, at most! I'm a little slow, because i fix typos and capitalization while i write. I'm thinking that i just shouldn't do that, haha

Fiction. I sort of got an idea of what's coming out of my head. An underground terrorist cult whose murders reflect, build upon and shame a renown 20th century polymath's paintings and literature. I haven't made time to outline a plot or anything, which woulda been nice.


I want to be able to tell myself i challenged myself to write a plump story and enjoyed it, so i'ma do that!

>> No.5671155

i am kind a new (lurking since 5 days) here.
Should we make a NaNoWriMo thread only for feedback on written texts? or is that one critique thread too much?

>> No.5671158

>>5671155
NaNoWriMo is not about writing something good. It's about writing anything at all. You participate in NaNoWriMo to get your discipline back and finish something. Editing and critique comes later.

>> No.5671162

I wrote 58,000 words in two days, literally spending the entire two days writing. Holy shit, I can hardly remember any of it though, gonna be fun rereading it

>> No.5671179

>>5671162
Check out Stevenson here

>> No.5671183
File: 25 KB, 924x387, this is hard.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5671183

>> No.5671189

This is the worst forced meme in 4chan history.

>> No.5671195

This is a parody thread, right?

>> No.5671197

80,000 words 2 days, get on my level

>> No.5671200

>>5671189
it's a forced meme?

>> No.5671202

>>5671197
Post your 80,000 words.

>> No.5671212

>>5671195
No, i'm just a newbie at writing. Sorry.

>> No.5671214

this thing sucks so much. death of literature

>> No.5671218

>>5671214
>more people writing is the death of literature
>hurr durr don't interfere with me and other ubermensches

>> No.5671222

>>5671214
Joke's on you, I'm writing the next great novel of the 21st century.

>> No.5671224

>>5671202
Sorry, did I say 80,000 words? I meant 8,000,000 words sucker

>> No.5671228

>>5671218
You shouldn't even be writing literature if you try to pluralize foreign words but don't know how

>> No.5671230

>>5671222
I already wrote two of those

>> No.5671234

>>5671222
What was the previous great novel of the 21st century?

>> No.5671243

>>5671234
Apparently this guy here >>5671230

>> No.5671246

>>5671234
I haven't released them yet, but like Nietzsche I am aware of my being dynamite, sorry anon

>> No.5671252

>>5671222
>needing a machine that tells you "hey, you're too slow, write more!" to write the next great novel of the 21th century

meh

>> No.5671258

>>5671162
>>5671197
Do you guys make an outline first, or do you just write and see what happens, despite contexts, ignoring capitalization, etc.?

I'm a creatively inclined person, but with something new to me, being only a reader, i'm really conscious about it.

>> No.5671259

>>5671252
ad hom of the century
James Joyce used to have his girlfriend fart on his face for every 1000 words he wrote, it's tru

>> No.5671261

>>5671252
This is basically the essence of the 21st century, yes.

>> No.5671266

>>5671258
>Do you guys make an outline first, or do you just write and see what happens, despite contexts, ignoring capitalization, etc.?
I put characters into a situation, with a general outline (there's a monster, this relationship's gonna go tits-up, etc.), and just let it play out. I figure it's more fun for the author that way anyway

>> No.5671313

>>5671258
Different people do it differently. I outline pretty thoroughly, I can tell you how long every chapter will be and what the main plot beats are in each, though I'll follow novel digressions or interesting lines of dialogue between characters if I like them

>> No.5671314

>>5671313
That would be such a chore for me.

>> No.5671342 [DELETED] 

>not thanking me every night for introducing you faggots to this topic
>not mentioning me in every thread
>not thanking me in every post
>not thanking that I was feeling generous that day in which I blessed you with this challenge

>> No.5671361

This is just too fast for me. I tried last night and I got 700 words out in a couple hours, which seemed like a really productive night for me, then I checked and saw I'd have to do more than twice that to hit the 50K in a month wordcount goal.

I'll maybe set a personal goal of trying to do 1K every night, but I just don't see myself putting down stuff that's worthy of anything better than immediate deletion if I try to do the 1700-1800/day goal.

>> No.5671364

Started this, thought fuck that, back to my nonfiction essays.

>> No.5671367

I just finished. It took me about 45 hours of straight writing to complete the 50k word count.

>> No.5671381

>>5671342
THANK YOU SO MUCH GREAT WISE ANONYMOUS PERSON. I WOULD HAVE NEVER FOUND THIS WEBSITE WHERE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE PARTICIPATE. NOR WOULD I HAVE HEARD OF IT IN MY REAL LIFE

>> No.5671386 [DELETED] 

>>5671381
>implying that you've ever seen this challenege posted on the literature section of this indonesian cartoon image board


Zeeburg, faggot.

>> No.5671416

I've been working on this idea for a detective crime novel for a while now. Think I'll do it, or at least give it a shot.
Any other Norwegians here doing it?

>> No.5671442

Fuck that chapter about the braindamaged guy who got hit by a meteor. I'm starting now with the story. Escpecially since I'm going to rewrite the first chapter later anyway.

>> No.5671530

Started an hour ago. I'm 1,752 words into writing a neo-noir story about a call girl who witnesses a murder and is now on the run.

>> No.5671547

fucking shit. I'm writing about a boy in North Korea but I literally know near nothing about korean culture.I have to research AND write 50,000 words.

>> No.5671554

>>5671547
I know alot about North Korean culture, don't ask how. Ask away

>> No.5671585

>>5671547
I want to know:
How names work.
Where/how the "upper class" lives. Say if the boy's dad is an official of some type. I dont have a full understanding but I believe most people are poor and live on the street or in shacks. This story is more or less me challenging what I know about North Korea, and
diffusing a sense of alienation toward the country. A video about a girl and her family escaping north korea was my inspiration.

A lot of my story wont even be happening exactly IN north korea, but its very important at the beginning. I need to know modern day, as well as 19th century.

>> No.5671613

>>5671183
innit fam

>> No.5671617

Goddammit, /lit/, I'm only at 1,000 words.

I need to be at 3,000 by the end of the day to stay on track.

>> No.5671620

>>5671585
Apartment blocks in and outside of Pyongyang.

>> No.5671625

>>5671585
Just write your fictional version of North Korea. Make North Korea REAL through your writing.

>> No.5671639

>>5670970
My goal for today is to reach word 3522 (Yesterday I hit 1822), and right now I'm right around 2200. I wouldn't say I'm very fast, but as long as I keep revisiting it I think I can get out the 1700 words per day.

I don't really understand how capitalizing words could slow you down much - maybe you should work on your typing skills when you aren't writing. There are plenty of sites and games which help you type more efficiently.

>> No.5671650

>>5671639
Why is capitalizing words so hard for people?

German here, by the way. :^)

>> No.5671653

>>5671617
i'm on 300.

>> No.5671694

>>5671650
I dunno - I guess because it is a finger combination on the keyboard? Some schools don't offer typing classes - mine did, so capitalizing words really isn't a big deal. I'm not OP, are you?

American here - howdy howdy howdy

>> No.5671700

>>5671620
Ill look more into that, trying not to get too many google tabs open at once.
>>5671625
Thanks, that helps a lot.

>> No.5671880

>>5671650
>>5671639
>>5671694
It's that, if i miss a capitalized letter, i feel the need to go back, and capitalize it. Stuff like that.

>> No.5672090

>>5671416
>Any other Norwegians here doing it?
I guess not then.

857 words in, lovig\ng every second of it so far

>> No.5672167

I just started about an hour ago and did 1593 words. It sucks though, and I'm running out of steam. I'll try to get around 3000 before stopping.

>> No.5672199

>>5672167
>hour ago and did 1593
Holy shit. What are you writing about? I usually spend hours writing a thousand words.

>> No.5672203

>>5671530

Fuck, I've been stuck at 2,414 words. Need to bring in another character soon in order to generate dialogue.

How is everyone else doing so far?

>> No.5672218

>>5672203
Been writing hours every day since day 1 and I'm at 1,115.

>> No.5672220

>>5672203
3,492 - blitzing this shit, characters good and established, not long now until one of them is getting the chop! :D

>> No.5672231

>>5672220
21:31 here, I'll probably get another 1,000 or so words in before I turn in I hope

>> No.5672232

>>5672218

Most of my writing on the first 1500 was within about 30 mins or so. Gotta go at your own pace I guess. Does it normally take you a long time to get through a paragraph?

>>5672220

Going the Stephen King route eh?

>> No.5672243

>>5672232
>Going the Stephen King route eh?
Actually, I very much am. Not far of The Shining tbh

>> No.5672255

>>5672232
Well, my first chapter is a first person narration of someone with brain damage. It's not easy to come up with a very impressionist day cycle in a hospital without using references to persons. The average length of a sentence was about four words. But I called it a day and started writing the second chapter. It's a bit easier now and I'm making progress pretty fast. I'm aiming for 5,500 words before I go to sleep in a few hours.

>> No.5672268

>>5672243

Of the two characters I introduced at the beginning one was the call girl and one was the murder victim so technically I've got about a 20% mortality rate so far. But the only one with a speaking part has been said call girl, so I'm going to have to come in on chapter 2 with some heavy dialogue to get the plot moving.

>>5672255

That should be achievable. I've got all day and all night left on day 2 so far.

>> No.5672269

>>5671155
Not many /lit/s participate in NaNo, there are a couple dozens of us maybe, the rest pretend to be above it and jerk off all through November (if you are actually writing something, don't mind me).

So no, it will empty pretty quickly and people are trying to get the draft down, they know it is not as good as it can be.

>> No.5672283

>>5671183
I have 1105 words so far ): I've won the past two years, really don't feel like doing NaNo and instead reading like crazy but I really want to keep the streak.
w4t d0?

>> No.5672284

>>5672199
I usually spend time too, but the aim of this seems to be pushing a lot out fast, regardless of quality. I writing some dumb self insert about a guy who moves into his Great Aunt's apartment in Paris after she dies. I think I'm going to get the guy involved with gypsies or the Arab drug trade, but it's light hearted though written in a formal tone.

It's atrociously bad.

>> No.5672285

What are everyone writing about?
My novel will be about a kleptomanic detective who solves a murder case by stealing stuff and puzzling the case together.
1152 words so far. Started 2.5 hours ago.

>> No.5672293

>>5672268
Mine's been pretty much all dialogue with most description via thought processes, easy street

>> No.5672301

>>5672285
Guy gets hit by a meteor. Dies miserably in a hospital. His two friends travel to the places he's been to because they want to be closer to his life and his thoughts. It's going to be experimental as shit, yo.

>> No.5672311

>>5672285

Hooker leaves her client's room, gets cryptic note by accident instead of cash. Sees client thrown out of window by guys who went into the elevator as she was coming down. Is now fleeing the city.

>>5672293

How's your hook?

>> No.5672313

>>5672301
The should find out that he lived a seedy double life along their travels and even get in trouble for being associated with him (people wanting money or something)

Also he should win the lotto, then get hit by a meteor and have the lotto ticket burn up when he gets hit

>> No.5672320

>>5672285
Novel about a guy with Communist and Meta-modernist tendencies that eventually succumbs to Post-modernism.

I have the ideas but my outline is pretty vague, it is starting to make sense as a I go tho. It will probably end at around 25k, trying to keep it concise.

>> No.5672324

>>5672311
>How's your hook?
Good. I don't really want to talk about it, lol, but it's pretty explosive while still being esoteric/intelligent.

>> No.5672334

>>5672313
Nope. They're going to find out the guy's life was not as exciting as they thought. Also, even though one of the two friends is a gril, nothing sexual happens between the two. It's a book about expectations and disappointment.

>> No.5672340

>>5672334
I don't understand. Surely there will be one scene to masturbate to?

>> No.5672349

>>5672340
>he doesn't masturbate to stunningly written prose

stay pleb

>> No.5672350

>>5672334
I'm joking man, sounds cool :P

>> No.5672352

>>5672334
>Also, even though one of the two friends is a gril, nothing sexual happens between the two.
Madman, keep that shit to yourself, someone might steal it.

>> No.5672359

The guy should try to rape the girl, then tear his banjo string

>> No.5672369

>>5672359
His banjo string gets hit with a tiny meteor even

>> No.5672379

>>5672369
The meteor is a metaphor for the futility of human existence.

>> No.5672383

>>5672379
I don't understand.

>> No.5672392

>>5672383
OH! They should have sex, but then it's bad sex (but still wankable to), then the chick has either a miscarriage or a downsyndrome baby

>> No.5672399

>>5672392
THE COMDOM BURSTS!! Holy shit I'm clever

>> No.5672406

>>5672399
I am joking btw, I think your story sounds cool. I am just venting on your story what with keeping all hush hush about mine

>> No.5672410

Stop this nonsense and away to your typewriters, keyboards, and blank pages. There's garbage to be written, and time dwindles quickly.

>> No.5672421 [DELETED] 

>>5672406
Joke's on jou - you haven't been talking to me with this stuff and I have been writing on my story in the meantime.

>> No.5672431

>>5672421
Jokes on you - I'm now writing a story about a guy who writes a story about denied expectations, whose story then turns out bad

>> No.5672433

>>5671880
How do you 'miss' a capital letter? Am I being trolled?

>> No.5672441

>>5672285
Space madness with a side of government conspiracy.

>> No.5672442

>>5672433
i miss capital letters so much. i wish they were here.

>> No.5672444

>>5672442
D:

>> No.5672464

>>5672334
I'd read it. Sounds kind of like Stoner.

>> No.5672470

>>5672464
Don't tell him that, the book can only be good if he dies disappointed with it, then it takes off

>> No.5672480

Reddit needs to go

>> No.5672488

>>5672470
B-but I want to write so many more books after this one!

>> No.5672493

>>5672480
>inb4 /lit/ falls for bait or grumpy virgin

>> No.5672503

>>5672488
Eh, it'd do a lot for the book's marketing if you were to kill yourself after writing it anon...

don't kill urself, human life is sacred!! just be sad

>> No.5672531

>>>/mlp/

>> No.5672537

>>5672531
thx

>> No.5672540

>>5672537
ty

>> No.5672587

>>5672531
I am more scared of the people on that board than skinheads, mexican drug lords and known axe murderers.

>> No.5672613

>>5672587
Joke's on you, I have plastic My Little Ponies sitting next to Kafka, Joyce, and Fitzgerald.

>> No.5672621

>>5672613
Stop fucking apostophizing the "jokes" u dumb cunt, it's "jokes on u" kinda like "drinks on u" duh

>> No.5672628

>>5672621
Make me !

>> No.5672632

>>5672628
That's it. For every time you do it from now on, I'm killing one kitten

>> No.5672633

>>5672632
Jokes is on you - I dont' even like kitten!

>> No.5672637

>>5672633
I knew u were gonna say that I am really samrt

>> No.5672638

>>5672621

Wrong. It's 'the joke is on you.'

You're a diamond dozen, anon

>> No.5672640

>>5672638
Y-your two!

>> No.5672652

>>5672640
He was talking to me, anon...

>> No.5672670

>the shitposting is real

>> No.5672676

>>5672670
>tfw can't frolick thru life with the shitposters

>> No.5672681

>>5672676
>>5672670
Joke's on you; I'm writing incredibly awesome literary fiction while I shitpost on 4chan.

>> No.5672688

>>5672681
I am rewatching the Mentalist which owns

>> No.5672691

>>5672670
OP here. I'm not a troll. Just legitimate questions regarding the craft of writing.

I've never written a story, let alone, a short one. Maybe 2,000 words of story, for giggles and whatnot. Never more than that.

I guess you guys and gals here aren't used to that? 'Dunno.

>> No.5672693

>>5671361

A trip told me the other day, you're not obligated to write the full 50k; if it ends up being a short story, that's fine. Honestly, that's what I'm shooting for; I'll write as much as I can, but I'll whittle it down to about 30-50 pages, maybe.

Point is, don't sweat it too much

>> No.5672696

>>5672691
1,000 words**

>> No.5672704

>>5672693
Just do your best. Honestly, 80% of nano's will be absolute shit.

The point is to train writing discipline, not to produce a masterpiece.

>> No.5672709

>>5672691
>I guess you guys and gals here aren't used to that? 'Dunno.
Are you asking if we are used to write long stories or if we aren't used to it?

>> No.5672719

>>5671228
I cant believe that people as stupid as you exist

>> No.5672747

>>5672709
That /lit/ is used to discussions with those acquainted with writing, so my thread comes off as a troll thread. Thinking in that context, i re-read my first post and laughed

>> No.5672782

>it's now day 3
>barely been able to reach 1,500 words

Uuuughhhh.

>> No.5672791

>>5672782
>12 words (including numbers)

>> No.5672793

>>5672782
>now day 3
Still day 2 where I am. Trying for 3,000 by the end of today. Currently at ~1,700.

>> No.5672884

>chapter one is a person who suffers from brain damage and is unable to form coherent sentences or put his surroundings into words that make sense
>chapter two is stream of consciousness of someone who is writing a list

I hate myself. How do I even come up with this shit. I just want to write a normal book. Next year I'm going to do something with dragons and vampires, I swear.

>> No.5672918

>>5672782
How? I can shit out crap, it's writing something good that's hard, because rewriting actually requires discipline, while typing is easy.
>>5672884
Just pass the bowel movement. Writing this fast isn't supposed to be good.

>> No.5672941

>>5670970

Please don't do this.
To anyone wanting to start writing, do not do this kind of cheap tricks.
Write what you need to write, when you need to, at whatever pace suits you better.
"Fast writing" can only lead to something similar to fast food.

>> No.5672958

>>5672941
See
>>5671158

>> No.5673035

>>5672941

It helps people like me who need external motivation to get anything done. I'm not motivated otherwise, even though I kind of enjoy this shit.

And >>5671158
what anon said. Get a lot of (bad) material out, salvage the good stuff, repeat until you have a coherent work.

>> No.5673073

>>5672941
Still worth doing because if you make it to the 50k mark you win free copies of your printed book which can be good for editing.

>> No.5673085

>>5673073
What if you don't want printed shit? Can you revise it first?

>> No.5673460

>>5671258

This is my first time doing this shit. I wrote an outline last week that was going to be some neo noir shit set in vegas but it became pretty apparent early on that I'm not going to be able to come up with a decent plot on the fly while trying to write 1700 words a day so instead I'm writing about my brother's wedding in Vegas two years ago. There will be a lot of editorializing/changing what really happened of course, but I'm already thinking that taking actual events as a base and then tweaking things is definitely the way to go rather than trying to come up with something from scratch.

>> No.5673496

>>5672090
reching 5000 soon. Will go to bed now and hopefully find the time to continue tomorrow.
I'm telling you, nervrotic kleptomaniacs solving crimes is pretty easy to write about, as long as you know a thing or two about mental illnesses and compulsive disorders

>> No.5673604

>>5673460
OP here, trying not to think too much about the plot, and more about the scenes that follow each one i'm currently writing, and i'm finding a good flow that way, like the plot will develop itself.

Writing dialogue is going much quicker for me right now. Maybe it has something to do with me being a film buff and all. Maybe it will go quick for you too, to kinda 'talk' the writing. It makes me think so much, to describe everything, more than what they're thinking, saying, etc.

Maybe discovering the characters and why they say what they say, will make everything much easier?

>> No.5673724
File: 14 KB, 240x240, 1413900604015.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5673724

734 words...
And I'm done for today. It's late and I still have to do my homework...

>> No.5673766
File: 27 KB, 600x601, 1299795152002.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5673766

I've finally made a breakthrough while cycling through the woods at night. I was a pantser before but now the whole thing seems to write itself AND it will be coherent yet full of wonder. It's beautiful. Everything that was disconnected makes sense now.

>> No.5673819

>3,000 words in one day
Is this what hell feels like?

>> No.5673842

>>5673819
I'm shooting for 4000 to make up for not writing yesterday, but I'm running out of steam at 2300.

At least shit is happening

>> No.5673851

>>5673842
I've written more words talking about NaNo than I've put into my own story.

There is some sick irony in there somewhere.

>> No.5673856

I'm new to /lit/.

Why the fuck does /lit/ have so many people with no grasp on English, who hate writing and hate fun books?

>> No.5673860

>>5673851
You should put your words written about your story directly into your story. Make it a metafiction.

>> No.5673861

>>5673856
Because it's not actually about literature, it's about really insecure people pretending they like literature so that they can look smart and hope to god that nobody sees right through them

>> No.5673866

>>5673856
Because your taste a shit.

>> No.5673868

>>5673856
I don't hate writing. That said writing fucking sucks.

>>5673861
Indubitably

>> No.5673899

33,55 today boys I'm on the fast track

>> No.5673901

>>5673899
Post something.

>> No.5673928

>>5673604

Maybe, i get self conscious about flow for dialogue. I don't want to write "he said/replied/stated/asked" after every single quote but i think it looks weird/gets confusing to just have a long back and forth. i think i need more dialogue though, i'm getting too stuck in my MC's head

>> No.5674006

>>5673856
Because you're new to /lit/ Once you're stuck we all make sense.

>> No.5674186

how the fuck do you write a synopsis, and big should it be?

>> No.5674268 [DELETED] 

>tfw I have two tests this week, and a paper


Fuck. I'm gonna have to catch up this weekend.

>> No.5674389

Well I'm at 797 words and I don't even have a plot. This is my first attempt at seriously writing something in about two years though, so hopefully it will pick up a bit once I can work out what the fuck I'm actually writing about.

>> No.5674412
File: 289 KB, 1080x1582, stupid.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5674412

Remember that your stuff will never be as bad as this kids. Stay strong

>> No.5674418

I've been working night shifts, so I pounded out my first 3000 before November started
Now I've hit a mental block and can't figure out how to proceed

>> No.5674425

>>5674412
Dear lord, I don't even know where to begin with that. How can he be proud of writing that mess?

>> No.5674437

>>5674412
At least it's not in first person.

>> No.5674452

>>5674412

http://nanowrimo.org/forums/character-cafe/threads/153636

holy fuck they're all terrible...

m-m-maybe there's hope for my writing after all

>> No.5674471

>>5674452
>"I really hope you thought this through or researched this good enough, because I'm, like, forty percent fire-based in my magic, and you're telling me I have to go dunk myself in unpurified water. Which is not cool, by the way. If this doesn't work I'm considering revoking our BFF status."

I refuse to believe this is legitimate.

>> No.5674514

>>5674471
I literally read "*turns into a dragon and flies off to fight*"
Is this shit for fucking real? How do these 30 year olds have the imaginative depth of a fucking highschool freshman?

>> No.5674534

>>5674514
Capitalism.

>> No.5674541

>>5674514
what's wrong with the transformation of a man into a dragon? that image was used a lot of times, in old legends (fafnir used to be a man before he became a dragon), in modern tales (eustace scrubb from 'the voyage of the dawn treader'), just for fun (spenser's archimago), for a short time for battle purposes (suddenly, whom to blame - le guin and her earthsea :3)

>> No.5674545

>>5674541
So you see no problem with the line
>*turns off into a dragon and flies off to fight*
?

>> No.5674551

>>5674545
i don't see the problem with the idea, the line is clumsily written

>> No.5674567

>>5672433
This entire thread is a bad joke. Either back away slowly, or join in on the fun, I suppose.

>> No.5674568

>>5674551
>the line is clumsily written
Which is, I'm assuming, the other poster's problem with it.
Who in their right mind would use asterisks to denote an action in a novel? Isn't that entire point of writing; to convey actions and feelings through the use of words? I'm not sure of the context in this case, but I assume turning into a dragon isn't a dull, sterile event in the character's life, but it has been conveyed in an incredibly dull and sterile (not to mention immature and informal) way.

>> No.5674573

>>5674551
It's not even written. You may not be familiar with what is taking place in the text. Haven't you ever seen text sandwiched between asterisks? It's used on message boards and in IRC chats to denote an imagined action. Something like:

*runs over*
*hugs you*
*violently ejaculates*

That sort of thing. These people are literally using message board and chat room shorthand in their prose. And while I can certainly see somebody like Pynchon doing that, I doubt any of these writers are doing it with the intention of pushing the boundaries of the novel as a form.

>> No.5674606

>>5672941
Tentatively seconding this anon.

I understand the idea of not being self-motivated enough to write. I used this event as an excuse to start writing again a few years ago, and while I don't yet have a coherent novel, I've written a couple hundred thousand words since. Does National Novel Writing Month help? Sure.

If you've NEVER WRITTEN BEFORE, this event WILL NOT HELP YOU. Before you start writing, you need to read. You need to study. You need to understand WHY this word is more appropriate than the other. You need to understand grammar, and you need to understand how using too, much, punctuation, affects, your, writing, and how using none at all does the exact same thing and when to use them both.

I've seen too many people hung up on the word counts. Word counts ARE NOT THE PURPOSE OF WRITING. Writing is about conveying ideas, whether that's dissecting the purpose of humanity, or seeing a dog named Spot run. It is not a contest of word sums. It's not. If you're doing this to reach 50,000 words--stop. You're getting yourself into a bad, bad habit.

Step back, look at WHY you want to write, and go from there. Get some shit down. Declare November your time to shine. But for god's sake, stop thinking about numbers, and start thinking about content.

>> No.5674705

>>5674606
OP here. I appreciate these words very much. Everyone should have a reason. It's officially the 3rd day for me now, and i'm just a few hundred words off. I'm taking my time, but pushing it as well.

No, word counts are not the purpose, and i know that being a total newbie at this doesn't warrant much of an opinion, but my experience in songwriting, composing, and all that other junk for nearly 6 years now, has taught me one of the most important things: In swiftness, there is truth.

Yes, you can take as long as you want to write that golden paragraph/chapter, 'til your 'muse' strikes, and whatnot... but you're not gonna get that golden paragraph/chapter that way. It'll come off as a contrived attempt at writing something golden when the time comes.

I think, through NaNoWriMo, you can write something to the end, that you were still on the same wavelength with throughout the process of its conception. You write something today, and then pick it up months later, it's going to bear pretty different feeling than what you wrote initially.You might not be interested in writing the way you used to, and so the story might never develop like you might have expected or wanted it to.


My problem with this whole thing is producing the material without being a perfectionist about how neat it is, that's all. I've learned to type neatly by talking to people online. Mixing editing with the writing -- worst things you could do, i'd like to think. You can't edit what's barely there. I mean, you could, but it isn't gonna mean anything. That's my conclusion i've made for myself over these 3 days, for prose.


All my album-worthy, best songs were written (not produced/recorded/mixed) in less than a day, if not partially. I'd like to think NaNoWriMo can help you turn off your left brain and let the best in you come out, having a deadline and all.

About the whole brain thing... well, when you think too much, your logic and language mechanisms will work as word filtration, quite literally. You zone in on single, individual words you would THINK works best, that you're not certain IS best. You're just caught calculating which word's better for the sentence.

You turn your logic off, and empathize with the words, and what the character is feeling -- what he or she would do -- it's not something you describe to yourself before you write. It's something you'll feel, or reenact in your head, WHILE you write. In short, it's being in The Zone.

I don't need NaNoWriMo, but shit, i wanna see what i'm capable of, so i'll use it as a tool in doing so; my friend needs a story to base, if not loosely base a screenplay off of.

>> No.5674733

>>5674573
>These people are literally using message board and chat room shorthand in their prose.

that's not a bad idea actually if done correctly (the novel will be pretty postmodernist though)

pelevin wrote his 'the helmet of horror' as a weird internet chat after all

>> No.5674748

>>5674705
>In swiftness, there is truth

>>Nothing more repulsive could be imagined than to feel the ink flowing thus in cascades of involuntary inspiration.

:3

>> No.5674761

>>5674514

"For my MC, who does not say much, some of his best moments are when he says a lot without speaking a single word. A line I do like is, "I am privileged of the king. I demand my blanket back!"

~he likes his blanket..."

>> No.5674769

>>5671234
Taipei
but actually

>> No.5674772

NaNoWriMo pisses me off. People that literally procrastinate so much that they need an incentive to "write something, anything".

Despite all the dick measuring in this thread, I have written 50k books in three days. Last day is editing.

My face when people pay me to write books. My face when trolling the freelance market so well that I make $1000 a book.
My face when my dating manual is a best seller and my girlfriend hates me in real life.
My face when can't prove any of this; too many NDAs.
That feel when ghost writer, etc.

>> No.5674773

>>5674772
The only person dick measuring in this thread is you, dude

>> No.5674775

>>5674705
you know Stephen king sells 1 dollar stories to film students.

>> No.5674776

>>5674773
Dick is 6" hard. No joke. Completely average guy.

>> No.5674783

>>5674772

1k for a book lmao that's like two cents a word sweet freelance rate bro

>> No.5674785

>>5674776
my dick is huge and amazing but you cant see it because it takes me 3 days to get hard (1 for editing)

>> No.5674786

>>5674761
could you give me the link to that *dragon* guy story pls? the thread is 15 pages full of crap...

also i forgot to mention i thought that ** were kind of quote marks on your part

>> No.5674788

>>5674785
AAHHAAHHA
Fucking recht

>> No.5674794

>>5674783
If you knew the market, you'd know that Indians charge $1 per 100 words. This means you'd make $50 for a full-sized book. I hope you can appreciate that although my rate sounds shit in theory, I'm one of the most high-payed freelancer writers in the world.

>> No.5674801

>>5674794
do they dock your pay if you spell "paid" wrong?

>> No.5674803

>>5674801
Yes. Also, lold. Was waiting for that.

>> No.5674826

>>5671261
You are a century behind anon. Sorry.

>> No.5674851

>>5672693
Hm, I think that trip was onto something then. Thanks for the good advice from both you and him. I wrote about 900 more words today and I think if I can shoot for between 700 and 1500 daily I will be very happy with my output even if it is not "novel in a month" level.

>> No.5674917

A lack of motivation is the number 1 reason people don't write.
I would say number two is people worrying about their editing/grammar. I use the Ginger program from gingersoftware, saves my ass so much. By using it I have learned to avoid certain pitfalls when writing.

I am writing a scifi novel about a video game tournament. 2nd book in what will be a 3 books series. First book I did 3 years ago.
At 6,000 words. I started early, back in early October. Because why not.
My goal is only 30,000 words for the book.

I may have to start writing a 2nd novel if I finish before the end of the month.

>> No.5674967

>>5674917
Nah it is hard work. people are queered off from hard work. So they choose to do something "easy".

>> No.5674988

Please, tell me, NaNoWriMo faggots, how does spamming out words result in a good book? Because we really need to inspire all the cunts that otherwise would have never got around to their dream of "one day writing a book". That feel when people think you can just "write a book" like it's something you just do. Sure, go write your book. I'm too pissed off to even explain why this is wrong.

>> No.5674994

I just finished writing a book and my advisor (who is actually a published author and member of a literary support group in my country) says it's a fucking grand book.

I just need to get off my ass and edit the last couple of pages, then I can take the next step.

Shit's right there, I'm so close to finishing this part of the journey.

Come onnn me

>> No.5675001

>>5674988

You learn by writing. Just write out what you want to happen, and if you hit a part that you can't explain, leave it and move on. Then come back later with what you learned from writing, and apply it.

Also, read it out aloud. That one can solve so many problems.

>> No.5675006

>>5674988

Why are so many of you so butt-hurt?
Does your ass ache that much from other people enjoying things?

I hate pleb literature as much you motherfuckers, but at least I'm confident enough to write for myself without having to bitch and moan whenever someone else does it in a different way.

>> No.5675009

>>5675001
"You learn by doing."

I'm literally going to become a sharp shooter. Never held a gun before, don't know how to fucking work it, but I'll learn along the way.

This logic is fucking dangerous, but I hope you follow it religiously in the hope you have a bad accident.

>> No.5675011

>>5674994
Same here, my dad knows Pynchon and gave him my novel to read, he sez it's the best thing since his Magna possum, Gravity's Rainbow

>> No.5675016

>>5675009

Yeah, but you know english to begin with before you start writing. Likewise, you know how to operate a rifle before you start going shooting.

In both cases, you'll get better with practice.

>> No.5675045

>>5675016
This is the thing you ignorant cunts can't seem to understand: being able to write English is NOT the same as being able to write a book.

You will never learn the finer points of the art by doing it. You'll produce a piss-poor manuscript rife with dangling modifiers and spastic commas. You'll say "effected" instead of "affected". You'll mix up "who" and "whom", largely fucking up restrictive VS non-restrictive parenthetical syntax along the way. All the while, your dumbass lit friend will pick up the odd typo and convince you that this is what editing looks like.

When it's time to publish, you'll throw your Deviantart friend $100 bucks to render you a cover with the aid of trusty Photoshop. Lastly, I'll have to look at this fucking monstrosity that you wrote in a god-damn-month next time I'm shopping for books.

My god you cunts make a joke of the profession. And for every 1,000 of your books, 10 good books get buried – it's a fucking crime.

>> No.5675047

>>5675045

You sure are projecting. The first draft is never the final product.

>> No.5675053

http://nanowrimo.org/forums/fantasy/threads/172319?page=6

>Not sure if this is what I'll be working on this year, but one of my stories has to do with a modern trans woman being the key to closing a dangerous trans-dimensional rift

Haha this forum is great

>> No.5675059

>>5675009
what the fuck is a bad accident in this analogy. you just write a bad book it's not like you end up with a typewriter smashing your skull open

>> No.5675062

>>5675047
It just isn't possible to salvage a story written in a month without hiring a professional editor, unless you're exceptional.

And editing isn't magic, either: You hand me a turd... I can spray some deodorant on it, but it's still gonna smell like shit.

>> No.5675065

>>5675059
The accident is me reading your work. That's when a skull gets smashed with a typewriter, my own.

>> No.5675076

>>5675062

Or you have some time. Sure, it's impossible to go from 0 to perfect book, but everyone has to start somewhere. The biggest hurdle in writing a book is "holy fucking shit just write it" for lots of people. Nanowrimo encourages you to just write shit. You may end up with a crappy book but you'll still learn what worked and what didn't when you're done, and you can take that and apply it to your next attempt.

And you're right that editing isn't magic, but it can still work wonders and helps the developmental process.

>> No.5675087

>>5675076
I guarantee if someone spent a month reading books about grammar, composition, style and doing writing exercises; it would be time better spent.

The only thing NaNoWriMo teaches people is how to write a bad book in a month. I dare you to prove me wrong. Pro tip: you can't.

>> No.5675098

>>5675087
thats why October is NaGraCoStyWriExMo dude, we already got that stuff out of the way

>> No.5675105

>>5675098
LOLD It wasn't instantaneous, but when I got it hahaha

>> No.5675113

http://nanowrimo.org/forums/fantasy/threads/175014?page=18

>I'm sorry, but no. It's a gross overstatement that there weren't African people or Middle Eastern, or Asian people in medieval Europe. The fact is that they were there, just in much smaller quanties than they were now. And quite frankly I'm sick of that being the excuse for not including racial diversity; it's about as realistic as armies only raping women when they invade a fantasy land, when men were at the same level of risk for rape in such situations in the real medieval europe.

Is...is that last bit true?

hot

>> No.5675128

>>5675113
Writers are fucked up people. I don't doubt that this man has done extensive research on the topic of Medieval rape for his books.

>> No.5675139
File: 29 KB, 143x136, 1353404720305.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5675139

http://nanowrimo.org/forums/fantasy/threads/175014?page=23

>"He's half ghost (or close enough) to start and moves easily between the two planes of shadow and reality. I guess he could have stayed ghost-dead rather than returning to ghost-alive, but that would have made for a squicky kind of relationship I wasn't willing to touch. lol!

>> No.5675146

>>5675053
>trans woman being the key to closing a dangerous trans-dimensional rift
that's a nice alliteration

>> No.5675149

http://nanowrimo.org/forums/fantasy/threads/182127

Oh fuck me, this entire thread.

>> No.5675172

>>5675113
>Is...is that last bit true?
doubt it, at least for medieval europe
sodomy was a sin, people could be executed for that
i.e. it probably might happen sometimes (may be in italy? or during wars with turks?) but probably pretty rare

i once read the chronicle of the grey friars on the internet out of curiosity (actually curiosity is a wrong word, i was in a very gloomy mood to read a stuff like that ><), it mentions at least one homosexual rape and the turk which committed it was executed, also iirc it mentions other sodomites executed for their sin

so the homosexual rape existed back then too

also about racial diversity, despite it sounds as bs it's actually an interesting part, i recall that conan doyle's 'the white company' mentioned one afroenglishmen, that person was shot for robbing or something though so not a very tolerant expression of a soul beautiful as a star if we believe langston hughes

>> No.5675228
File: 78 KB, 320x240, 1414486461636.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5675228

>>5675009
>Writing 50k words is equivalent to handing a gun without supervision for the first time.

Once my mom wrote a whole book in two weeks. Dad and I told her she had to stop, slow down, that she had no practice, that it was too dangerous. But she didn't listen. The next thing we knew she was lying dead on her typewriter of writing overdose. To top it all off, her novel was awful. If only she had listened, but all of you can still survive. Don't do NaNo, not even once.

RIP Mom

>> No.5675238

>>5675113
I wonder what compels these people to write out long-winded posts on things that they know nothing about, and how it is that they manage to come across as so sanctimonious whilst doing so.

>> No.5675240

>>5675228

My brother was hit by a wayward phrase once. His body has recovered, but for all intensive purposes his mind is still shattered.

>> No.5675245

>>5675238

He actually attached a source.

medievalpoc.tumblr.com

>> No.5675249

>>5675240
I found my dad lying on face down on the floor when I came home from school one day. Turn out he had been experimenting with free verse, and overdosed on a run-on sentence.
This NaNoWriMo needs to be shut down.

>> No.5675252

>>5675245
>tumblr
Yeah, no
They'll no doubt have a tiny obscure work depicting an arab and make up a lengthy argument for why all of X country was once half sandnigger
Please, come back with a better source

>> No.5675257

>>5675249

In this year alone more than 120 families have been affected by overuse of "However". However, NaNoWriMo continues on blamelessly.

>> No.5675265

>>5675252

Browsing it it just seems to be historical depictions of black people in art and stuff with a few comments.

It's kind of interesting actually.

>> No.5675270

>>5675257
"Over 20% of adults aged 18-45 lack the vocabulary to write dialogue well." said George.
"That's too bad I hope we can do something about about it." said Carl.

>> No.5675284

>>5675172
>sodomy was a sin, people could be executed for that
Nobody ever executed people for sinning, you dumbfuck.

That's the whole point of confession in the first place.

>> No.5675388

>>5675053
That's a /lit/izen for sue.

>> No.5675394
File: 25 KB, 492x458, Yao-ming-face-meme.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5675394

>those plots
>mfw mine is only about a girl spending her summer vacation

>> No.5675401
File: 14 KB, 289x174, 1413942642618.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5675401

>>5675394

>> No.5675410

>>5675401

I want to read the one on the left.

>> No.5675536

I signed up for NaNoWriMo because a little masochism never hurt anybody.

>> No.5675560

>>5670970

Up to 120 words of edgy thesaurus shit, boy I'm on fire!
send help oh god

>> No.5675596

>>5675139
>squicky

Fuck I hate these people.

>> No.5675597

>>5675596
Do they squick you out?

>> No.5675614

>>5673496
8898 words in less than 24 hours.
My life is now centered around writing crime novels that no one will ever read.
Tell my GF i love her.

>> No.5675622

What's the point of signing up for NaNoWriMo when you still have to write your novel somewhere else?

>> No.5675629

>>5675622
Not participating, but from the top of my head:

>support group for all kinds of things
>publicly pledging to something makes you stick with it
>early career authors networking (haha as if)
>being social in general

>> No.5675638

>>5675622
What's the point of doing anything that could be fun?

My wife and best friend are doing it so I thought I'd sign up too, so I could see whether I can keep up with them. It's called playing along in the spirit of friendly competition.

tfw ~2000 words behind them already I'm so fucked

>> No.5675657

>>5671416
I did it last year, stopped when I realized that the word count thing just made me write pointless dialogue and actions. Been focusing on writing short pieces for practice and for various literary journals this year. Sure would be nice if any of them had the finances to pay even a token amount of money to their contributors (excluding Vinduet and a few others that don't accept unsolicited submissions).

>> No.5675700

>>5675657
Did you write without having a plot in mind? I already had the story planned out before i started typing, and I'm pretty sure it will be 50k long without being dragged out. There are however parts of the story that I have not yet been able to figure out how to write (murer in a locked room).

>> No.5675724

>>5675700
I did have a plot in mind, though it was more of a frame narrative for several small stories. I'm at 53 000 something words on that project, now, will be sending it to a publisher in a month or two, when I've made sure things are consistent and written a bit more.

>> No.5675787

It's about a clumsy but exceedingly lucky French Muslim merchant, Barnabé de Merrier, who moves to London in the early eleventh century in search of riches and glory. There he sets up a spice shop in a dark back alley, having spent most of his money getting to England, and calls it "The Spice Rack". Finding that a large number of people assume his shop is a public house, or even a brothel, he quickly branches out into selling exotic spirits, by buying cheap English ale and throwing random spices into the barrels. He starts his search for prostitutes willing to work for him, but assumes incorrectly that he'll need at least one prostitute per regular customer, leading to him employing a veritable army of prostitutes, which he has no way of paying, and gaining the nickname "The Moor de Merrier". Read on, gentle reader, to see how de Merrier gets out of this mess, and how he attempts to disguise his business when his distinguished grandmother visits him!

>> No.5675819

>>5675787
Adam Sandler is Barnabé de Merrier!
Adam Sandler is Barnabé de Merriers grandmother!
just kidding. sounds fun

>> No.5675948
File: 39 KB, 1401x840, HOW.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5675948

>>5675614
10.707
had to stop there, until i figure out how the murderer killed someone inside a locked room.

This is the room. It's on the second floor. You would survive jumping out the window, but then the window would be open. It can only be opened and closed from the inside.
The key is deliberately placed next to the note where the murederer is certain it will be discovered immediately.
How did he do it?

>> No.5675979

>>5675948
Small bombs in the food

>> No.5676024

Tippa Holder is a young stowaway girl attempting to escape the Holy Church Empire's military draft so that she won't have to fight in the unjust crusades against the neo-pagan islands of the Skysphere. She stows away on what she believes to be a sky freighter, only to discover that the freighter is piloted by a team of thieves and treasure hunters commanded by the mysterious captain Cecilia Dale. After Tippa Holder is caught as a stowaway, Cecilia Dale allows Tippa Holder to join the crew. Tippa discovers that Captain Cecilia Dale is a supporter and former soldier of the previous pope of the Holy Church Empire, Virtue III, who was deposed and sent into exile by forces supporting the current pope, Mercy VI. Cecilia Dale is using her treasure-hunting venture to fund an operation to restore Virtue III, who intends to end the Holy Church Empire's crusades against the Skysphere and the mage suppression campaigns that the current pope undertook.

>> No.5676031
File: 179 KB, 1000x686, tumblr_lmlq09XRAR1qzlgkno1_1280.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5676031

So far so good with me.

I actually had about 7,500 words already written from a chapter I wrote a while back, so I feel like I have a head start. I'm looking forward to staying on task and trying my best to do some every day, but if I falter, it doesn't matter cause I'm already ahead by a few days.

I'm writing a pulpy horror/romance. I want to take conventional tropes you'd see in Twilight or something similar and make them perverted and disgusting. So, basically I'm writing a lot of squeamish gore and sex. My main goal is to make the reader unsettled with the boner they have.

That probably sounds edgy and retarded but I don't care. I'm confident in my ideas.

>> No.5676074

>>5675979
fuck, forgot to add: the body is hanged from the roof.
also forgot to draw the pile of books on the desk. I figured it out. I know how he did it now.

>> No.5676148

>>5675009
You can't compare learning a physical action (Shooting, playing bass/guitar/drums) to something mental like writing.

>> No.5676155 [DELETED] 

>>5675045
And how, pray tell, do you learn how to do that?

By doing it.

Fuck off dumbass.

>> No.5676175 [DELETED] 

>>5670970
I said fuck it on the first day.

I just cannot write this way, even if it's not meant to be good, and the main point is to write consistently. I work better when I'm not under any sort of pressure to his a word goal each day. Sometimes I write nonstop during my free time for 2 weeks straight, other times I outline 1 scene and nothing more for two weeks. So I don't feel like this would help me, though I do plan on writing more than usually just for the same of it being November.

>> No.5676180

>>5676148
this. I've been writing for years, I'm certainly a better writer but not because of writing more, I read what I write and try to find what is so shite about it, read other authors and try to find what is so good about them.

No muscle memory. Quantity is not going to make you better, you just can train yourself to write for longer times and keep a routine.

I hate when people think they are going to somehow write something good after the 10000 hours or whatever by writing 10000 pages of half-baked shit.

You may get a little better at coming up with the next part of the story, but at the end it is the writing that makes it interesting, not the story itself.

>> No.5676209

>>5670970
I said fuck it on the first day.

I just cannot write this way, even if it's not meant to be good, and the main point is to write consistently. I work better when I'm not under any sort of pressure to hit a word goal each day. Sometimes I write nonstop during my free time for 2 weeks straight, other times I outline 1 scene and nothing more for two weeks. So I don't feel like this would help me, though I do plan on writing more than usual just for the sake of it being November.

>> No.5676228

>>5674794

I.... I can't tell if you're a troll but if those are legitimately your rates you're getting exploited so fucking hard lmao


http://www.writers.ca/index.php/component/content/article/80-pwac-resources/76-pwac-resource-what-to-pay-a-writer

FYI I'm a freelancer too

>> No.5676254

Mine is now 4,000 words of pure genius, but holy fuck is it tough going.

>> No.5676264

Someone tell me to go write my book.

>> No.5676286

>>5676264
You can do it. I believe in you

>> No.5676295

>>5676286
I just wrote another 169 words in 8 minutes! :D

>> No.5676301

>>5676264
Check out some threads on /lit/, maybe they have some inspiration for you. And haven't you considered getting a new word processor? You should probably research that on Wikipedia. Huh, what do you know, the front page on Wikipedia mentions the French invasion of Russia in 1812. Wouldn't it be nice to read up on that a bit? It's been a while since your history lessons, now.

>> No.5676307

>>5676301
Speaking of word processors, does anyone else use Google Docs to write?

>> No.5676309
File: 346 KB, 640x400, If you love twin tails anything is possible.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5676309

>>5676264
Write a book.

I know you can. If you love twintails anything is possible

>> No.5676324

>>5676254
Your book is trash, no good writer is a cocky confident asshole like you

>pure genius

>> No.5676329

>>5676324
Except if you are a pure genius. Being a pure genius allows you to recognize your own genius and its purity,
You're unable to see this simple fact because of your ungeniousness, but it's pure truthiness.

>> No.5676334

>>5676324
My ass they weren't. Smarts are our last savoir against the zombies of this world - if a man isn't reveling in his, he doesn't have any.

>> No.5676341

>>5676334
Furthermore, stupid people shouldn't pollute the intellectual airways. Please follow after good old Witty and first gauge your intelligence against other speakers before speaking.

>> No.5676347

I shall henceforth refer to loud, stupid people as 'pollutants'.

>> No.5676375

>>5675948
remained on canopy and never left o.o HE'S STILL THERE

>> No.5676385

I'm a few paragraphs into the actual work, but I've got several more pages of notes.


Not adhering too tightly to the month's end goal, I just want to have the draft done by the end of the year hopefully.

>> No.5676398

>>5676375
It would have been extremely easy to figure out who the killer was when he was the only one, except from the victim of course, not present the rest of the weekend.
No, he used a combination of dostoevsky, nabokov and his wife's knitting.

>> No.5676406

>>5676398
did he rape a nymphet as a distraction

>> No.5676434

>>5675948
Teleportation device and the killers are actually aliens!

>> No.5676454

>>5675948
He can enter and leave whenever he wants to because he's a half ghost.

>> No.5676460

>>5675948
There can be more than one key to a door doofus lol

>> No.5676463

>>5676434
>>5676454
>>5676406
here's the part that i forgot to add.
hint: the victim had not yet learned russian

>> No.5676471

"There's only one key to the door, how did the killer do it?"
DUNDUNDUN
"There's another key!"

>> No.5676477
File: 26 KB, 1401x840, HOW.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5676477

>>5676463
shit

>> No.5676484

>>5676477
He recited an evil Russian curse which killed him obviously

>> No.5676489

>>5676228
How do you get work as a freelancer?

>> No.5676500

>>5676477
Suicide note is obviously written in Russian, he doesn't know it is, and he was basically tricked into going into his room already dead and placing the suicide note within

>> No.5676505

I had planned to write a weird freaking book this year. But I am enjoying working under pressure.

It's written like utter shit so far, but I plan to edit it into something better.

>> No.5676510

>tfw i reread what i've written and i forgot to type certain words
>tfw my word count increases by 5 barely even trying
>feels good man

>> No.5676524

>>5676489
not that guy but network and make connections. write things in high visibility places where other people might read them and offer you money to write for even higher visibility places. I make a few thousand a year freelancing, not a primary job by any means but it's nice extra cash

>> No.5676538

>>5676307
I do

>> No.5676556

>>5676477
>trying to write
>GF keeps texting me
life is nothing but pain

>> No.5677580

>>5676228
>$10,000 to $15,000 a book.
This is fucking ridiculous. You'd be lucky to make this much being signed by a big publisher.

I actually freelance, and I know the market. Sites like oDesk and freelancer.com are averaging $1 per 100 words. This is because anyone that knows the English language can basically call themselves a professional writer and charge for their services. To make matters worse, Indians are happy to work these wages, and there's a lot of fucking Indians in the industry.

>> No.5677650

>>5677580
I mean, if you've gotten people to pay you more than $500 for a book that other Freelancers with outstanding reviews and hundreds of portfolio projects charging $200 bucks, I'll bow down to you. The highest paying freelance contract I've ever seen was for a few thousand, and this was only because the guy was from the UK (fuck yeah English pound) and didn't understand the average price to commission a book.

You basically quoted industry guidelines from Canada (lol), which no one follows in real life. Anyone that could pay 15-thousand-fucking-bucks for a book would need to have a preexisting audience of loyal customers in the thousands. An advance that big is like saying, "I'm pretty confident this book will sell at least 7,500 copies in a few months to break even before I start making money toward the end of the year."

Even a publishing company would never pay that much to a new author with no reputation, which is hard when you're ghost writing books.

tl;dr - only an already signed author with a good sales history is being paid 10-15k per book.

>> No.5677682

>>5677650
Three of my writing friends were recently signed by semi-decent publishers, all new authors with no audience. They were paid 6 and 7 hundred respectively for their first manuscript. It's even worse than this.

No publisher wants to risk a new writer, and if they do, you better have a second job.

>> No.5677697

Guys, I don't feel like doing NaNo this year, I feel like I'm just pushing through my word count and feel pretty shite after.

It was fun the last 2 years, this month I just feel like reading a lot. Maybe because I'm not sure if I want to be a writer anymore.

Should I drop it? (try to convince me otherwise)
Serious.

>> No.5677701

>>5677650
My first freelance book was for $50 :( Please tell me yours was this low too?

>> No.5677710

>>5677701
Yeah, don't threat it unless some cunt forced you to write a trilogy and you agreed. Most freelancer's first books are worth less than $50. My first book was 50k words of pseudo-scientific self-help mumbo jumbo for $200. You weren't far off from the standard rate, unfortunately.

Then again, Canadian anon is apparently being paid the price of a car to spit out a book as a freelancer, so I guess we both lose.

>> No.5677712

>>5677697
Not sure if NaNo can provide any benefit besides demonstrating that it is possible to write a book if you aren't lazy.

I'd drop it and write in your own time.

>> No.5677721

>>5677580
>>5677650

if you're honestly charging 1k for 50k words you're probably shit and you're the reason the industry is so shit

people are willing to pay for quality you just have to find them and prove your worth

like I charged $950 for about 10k words this week (for a business report but still)

>> No.5677730

>>5677712
I usually have an idea that I get pretty excited about before starting NaNo. I had one this year but it felt incomplete, I feel like I'm ruining the idea.

The worst thing is I'll probably write some short stories throughout 2015 and nothing more until the next NaNo... I hate myself.

Why do I even write again?

>> No.5677733

>>5677721
Reports are the exception. People pay massive cash for technical documents and Ph.D. dissertations.

>> No.5677744

>>5677721
Complete bullshit. Just signed up for oDesk and Freelancer a few days ago. The industry is exactly as shit as he said. Fuck being a freelance writer.

>> No.5677772

>>5677744

signing up for odesk and freelancer doesn't make you a freelancer

it makes you a bottom bitch

if you were actually a freelancer you would have actual irl contacts and meet with your clients and you wouldn't be getting paid peanuts

honestly, check craigslist, you can probably find companies looking for bloggers for $30 per 500 words

but then and again, I actually went to a good university, did proper internships, and have an actual portfolio

then and again if you have nothing to offer apart from a grasp of the english language then you're probably better off working minimum wage than "freelancing"

>> No.5677781

>>5677772

actually $30 is probably a bit on the "higher" end, but you can definitely find $10-20 per 500 words

$1 per 100 words is a joke, and if you're honestly writing for that much then you're a joke too

>> No.5677790

>>5677781
What about dishonestly writing for that much?

>> No.5677806

>>5670970
wonder how many yahoos are going to be filling up coffee shops with laptops and inane chatter about the novel they are writing. should be an awesome month, along with thxgiving and black friday

>> No.5677851

>>5677781
Yeah, articles pay higher than books, but I'd much rather write one book than like 100 articles. I can't really take you seriously as an alleged professional writer that "meets with clients" when u typ lik dis

I honestly have to wonder where you're getting your information. I've payed my bills with writing for about 9 years now and this fucking illusive list of clients willing to pay THOUSANDS for a book that could be commissioned for a few hundred bucks just doesn't exist.

Honestly, if you're talking out your ass, just fuck off. I also have to call bullshit because never in my career have I been asked about my education; they don't give a fuck. All they care about is if you've written books in the same genre as the contract and whether they did well on Amazon.

I think maybe you've chanced onto the handful of retards you will occasionally run into willing to pay a decent rate simply because they don't know better, and now you think that's the way it always is.

>> No.5677875

Well, I wrote 999 words today, in about an hour. Although I'm not doing NaNoWriMo. I'm currently at 26,573 words and I'm writing this shit since January 2013

>> No.5677880

>>5677781
Yeah, but you need to tally 1 hundred of those jobs to make up 50k words. When you're paid like this, you lose money on research. Article writing is the shittest tier of writing jobs.

>> No.5677896

>>5677772
>check craigslist
OK, now I know you're full of shit. If you think freelancing is doing some rich kids paper, go right ahead.

>> No.5677928

>>5677730

How do you feel like you're ruining the idea? Is it being "forced" to write a quota of words a day to keep with the timeline?

And there's nothing wrong with writing short stories, man. Plenty of successful/well-known authors are mostly known for their short stories. Write because you have fun with it.

And what a lot of people forget is that it's not supposed to be good from the get go. It's a rough draft. Seeing if you can crank it out and THEN do something with it.

>> No.5677949

>>5677880
>>5677896

craigslist has companies who want freelance bloggers, technical writers, copywriters

it's definitely a good place to start building your portfolio and relationships if you don't have one

500 words for $10-20 is just the most basic introductory step

>>5677851
>u typ lik dis
>payed

you've freelanced for nine years and that's your rate holy shit

how does it feel to be at the bottom of the barrel :\


but what do I care anons, do what you want and continue to "freelance" for $1 for 100 words

>> No.5677955

I'm realizing just how little I am setting the scene.

Dude comes up, I say he has a beard, the end. Let's flesh this shit out, guys.

It will be weird to read this when it's 'done.' I'll probably develop a few skills as I write the same novel. Reading my work from start to finish will be like watching a kid grow up.

>> No.5678327

The lesson I have already learned from my first NaNoWriMo is: Next year I'm SO going to write something fun and not serious.

>> No.5678401

>>5678327
Keep doing it every year and keep updating your progress every year. Save those drafts too. It's hilarious to go back and see how shitty some of the stuff was from previous years.

>> No.5678443

>>5678401
I keep everything I ever produced since I was 10 years. Although a computer crash destroyed the stuff I wrote when I was 12 or 13, I still have almost everything. It's 36 folders full of paper and 1,400 pages in prose and poetry. I don't know how many pages I have handwritten in tiny, cute books like diaries.

>> No.5679766

>>5676307
Yeah because I own a Chromebook. Don't tell /g/

>> No.5680521

>>5670970
>/lit/
>participating

>> No.5680643

>>5680521
/lit/ should be its own region. I'm sick of all the plebs where i'm from